Lullaby of Screams
by JennMel
Summary: Before Atlantis, something happened to Rodney that no one would ever believe. Imagine an Earth where the Goa'uld never left, where humans barely survive, and then think just how unlucky McKay really is.
1. Shadow

Author Notes: Okay, so this story has been written for a while, but I refrained from posting, as the route I took with the characters turned sickenly cute and happy. To warn you, this story moves at a VERY fast pace in the first few chapters, so keep an eye on the times. It starts just pre-Atlantis, is Rodney-centric, but will quickly encompass the whole team in season 3 preSunday.

I have not seen season 4, and own nothing in this story. Hope you enjoy!

**Lullaby of Screams**

Chapter 1: Shadow

Coffee; the scientist's friend. Dr Rodney McKay sat down at his desk at Area 51, casting an annoyed eye over the paperwork that had somehow inexplicably piled up. Seriously, forget the Goa'uld, admin was going to take over the world next. It had taken long enough, but finally – only a month previously – he had been reassigned from Russia, almost two years since he had helped out at the SGC to avert Anubis' little 'destroy the Earth' phase. He wouldn't be staying here long, however. The Air Force seemed to think he was some sort of commodity to be passed around, as only that morning he had received the call that would reassign him to the newly equipped Antarctica base. Not that he was complaining – to be assigned the position of Head Scientist in the home of Ancient technology on Earth was not something he would ever turn down. It was just the prospect of the cold; his blood had only recently started defrosting in the heat of the Nevada desert.

"Dr McKay?" A timid little voice floated over from the doorway, making Rodney roll his eyes.

"What? Unless you're about to blow anything up in the very near future, thus destroying this base, please just turn around now."

"But sir…"

McKay sighed, "Alright, fine, I get it, you need my brain." He stood up, and walked towards the almost trembling scientist (a newbie, Rodney couldn't for the life of him remember the kid's name). His impatience grew, "Move!"

The kid scurried – and yes, that really was the word to describe it, not that he had anything against rodents, mind you, he was just of the opinion that rodent qualities should never be transferred into humans – and led Rodney into one of the labs, where boxes were being unpacked carefully. "Well?"

An SF handed him a clipboard, "Shipment from the SGC."

McKay scanned the document quickly: uninhabited planet, three-hundred and seventeen – very boring looking – artefacts of Ancient origin discovered in a temple, writings being translated in another department, and one lovely little message at the bottom reading '_Have fun_' from a certain Major Carter. McKay rolled his eyes. That woman seemed to be exhibiting an unhealthy level of sarcasm ever since the Colonel froze himself in Antarctica and came back. He sighed, "Well, I'm going to go get more coffee – get these to my lab. Preferably without breaking them."

* * *

Two hundred and fifty three artefacts in the lab, two hundred and fifty three artefacts in the lab, if one of the artefacts turns out to be another damn paperweight, there'll be two hundred and fifty two artefacts in the lab. McKay groaned. He really, _really _needed sleep, but he also needed to get a report back to the SGC by the fast approaching deadline of his plane to Antarctica, and there was no way he would leave these idiots in charge. He figured he would sleep on the plane, and as most of the scientists had gone home, at least he would get some peace and quiet. Carefully placing the logged artefact back in its box for storage, Rodney turned to the next one. He blinked, waking up slightly. This one looked a bit more interesting. With the shape of a mini obelisk, about 30cm long and comprising of an opaque silvery-green crystal, now that he looked, it clearly stood out from all the rest. Minuscule Ancient text decorated one side, but they were too small to define.

"Huh." He guessed Carter had missed this one – he had no doubt she sent him the boring artefacts and kept the good ones for herself. He frowned, examining the flat end of the crystal. It looked remarkably similar to the power crystals used in many technologies, but the writing was a new twist. Placing it carefully on the table, he began sorting through the boxes he had already logged. Sure enough, he found what he had presumed to be an insignificant part of a larger Ancient device. Round and flat in design, it too had markings, and also, in the centre, a hole that looked to be the perfect fit for the new crystal. Allowing himself a small smile, McKay took up the crystal and placed it in the secondary device – nothing like a little experiment.

The device glowed for a second, before returning to its dull, inactivated colour. McKay sighed. He had been right the first time – there must be more components, and clearly that was something he did not have. He rubbed his eyes, trying to drag some energy out, vaguely realising that he needed to go and eat something, and reached out to removed the crystal-

A searing pain shot through the skin of Rodney's palm, up through his shoulder muscle and forced the air out of his lungs. The world went black before his eyes, but then his ankles jarred and buckled as he hit solid ground – hard. "Ow! Crap, ow, that hurt." Gingerly, he peeled his hand off the crystal, shuddering slightly as he felt some skin stay behind. He was in a near pitch black room, standing in front of a waist-high pedestal where the damned artefact was now happily sitting dormant. The pedestal had various dials and buttons, all of which were fading out like a DHD. In a last ditch panic, McKay tried to simply reverse the process, but no such luck. The device remained stubbornly silent.

Rodney now knew he was breathing way too fast. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to calm down. This weak attempt was then completely foiled by the horrible sound of both multiple guns being cocked, and the sound of zat guns opening. An electrical charge running through his body rendering him unconscious didn't help much with the calm plan either.

* * *

"Look at his clothes-"

"He's gotta be rich."

"Nah, look at his skin, don't look like he's ever fired a weapon or carried a knife. Everyone knows the rich are the most paranoid."

"So who d'ya rekon he is?"

"Dunno. Poke 'im – see if he wakes up."

A sharp prodding on Rodney's already aching forehead forced him to finally open his eyes. He was in a windowless room, dimly lit, being poked by three scarecrow excuses for children, no older than eight. "Hey! Get off!" He batted their hands away sharply. The littlest one of the three gasped and ran out of the room, while the other two merely moved back until they were out of his reach, and regarded him coolly. "_What?_ Look, why don't you go get your parents? I'm sure it's well past your bedtime." He knew he probably shouldn't antagonise anyone right now, but his head was pounding like an EM pulse had gone off in his brain, and he was too tired and hungry to care about any semblance of nice.

The boy raised an eyebrow, exchanging an odd look with the girl. Before they could resume poking him, however, a voice from the doorway called over, "Den, Emily – out, now. Yarek is waiting for you up top – you're late."

Both children left without a word, and the woman closed the door behind them as she moved into the room, pointing a zat gun in Rodney's face as he sat up. McKay froze, before raising his hands. His brain was working overtime, and getting absolutely no answers. That was a zat, Emily was an Earth name, the woman was – if possible – skinnier than the kids, and they all spoke English. Nope. He had no idea where the hell he was. The woman glared, "Who are you, and how did you get that deep into the catacombs? Where are you from?"

McKay blinked, clenched his shaking hands into fists, and swallowed his snide nature; he had no idea how spaced apart zat shots needed to be to stun twice instead of killing the second time, and he did not feel in the mood for an experiment, "I'm Dr Rodney McKay – Earth."

The woman barked a laugh, "No shit genius – we're all from Earth. I meant what camp? And Doctor's a bit of a weird name, isn't it?"

"What? No, my name's Rodney, a doctor is…never mind. Wait, did you just say we're on Earth?"

The woman rolled her eyes, "There really isn't much useful grey matter in that skull of yours, is there?"

"You're not helping. You don't understand, this can't be Earth – I was just on Earth, so unless this is some sort of lunatic Air Force training exercise, which I doubt, this can't be…oh God. I am so screwed. I am so completely utterly screwed."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought any woman would go near you."

McKay blinked in shock of the retort, but then, "I'm sorry, you have no idea what a doctor is, but you're up to date with slang? Well aren't we the clever one?"

"Clearly. Your level of comprehension on the other hand…"

"Look, just shut up a moment will you? I'm trying to think."

The woman rolled her eyes, but lowered her zat gun – something Rodney had completely forgotten the existence of since his mind had started trying to place things together. Unfortunately, with the headache fast turning into a migraine, that was becoming rather difficult. Finally, she gave up waiting, "Look, I'm busy."

"I'm in a parallel universe."

"Excuse me?"

"It's the only explanation; the crystal must have acted like the mirror. That's the only way I could have got here. What was your name again?"

The woman had a very sceptical look on her face, "Laura."

"That's great, look what do you know about these catacombs? What about the Ancients?"

Something seemed to click behind Laura's eyes, and for a moment Rodney was hopeful, but then, "Wonderful, I've got a Crazy on my hands. Just the way to end a perfect week."

"What? No you don't understand!"

"Oh I really think I do. You stay right there, I'll be locking you in, so don't get any ideas of slitting our throats while we sleep, okay?" Laura backed away, drawing a key from her pocket, opened the door and stepped outside, "I'll bring you something to eat when the raiders return."

"Oh, crap - food!" Rodney stood, but a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him full on, forcing him to lean against the wall. In all the confusion of the artefacts and the crystal, all he had eaten was a few power bars over the course of his work, god knew how many hours ago. Laura hadn't heard, however, and the thick metal door had been locked. Struggling to clear his head, Rodney forced himself to stumble over and bang on the door, a rising panic creeping all over his skin, "Hey! Wait!"

No one came. Rodney slid down the wall, trying to breathe slowly and force his thoughts to work coherently, but everyway he looked at it, he was going to die on a bastardised version of Earth in a cold dark room in a matter of hours, and no amount of IQ was going to prevent that.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: Please review!! (Can you guess where I'm going with this?)


	2. Lamplight

Author Notes: Thanks for all the feedback! I was realy surprised how positive it was. And sorry, Korilian, this story never was or will be Rodney falling in love/romance with the OC (I've never written a romance, and don't plan on starting now). Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 2: Lamplight

"So who is he?"

"None of your damned business, Yarek, I'm dealing with him. What did you get?"

Yarek growled slightly, moving forwards until he was practically nose to nose with Laura, "Don't mouth off at me, woman, it's my damn right to know what's going on here."

Laura's face remained passive, but there was a sharp line to her face that signalled she was close to drawing a knife. She pressed a hand on Yarek's chest, pushing him away, "Last time I checked, all you do is get us noticed and attacked by other camps, so don't try that shit with me." She shoved past him, "Go boil a rat."

Yarek twitched his arm as if to hit her, but knew it would be a stupid move in front of the rest of their little underground camp. He stormed off, footsteps echoing off the crumbling rock walls as he disappeared. Xac raised an eyebrow, "You've got to stop antagonising that man. One day he's going to snap your neck."

Laura waved her hand dismissively as she grabbed a dented tin bowl and scraped out some of the last of their dinner from the pot for their new 'guest'. It wasn't particularly appetising, but he'd have to make do. She doubted in his mental state he would notice anyway. Xac sighed, scooping up his daughter Emily, who was asleep and exhausted from the scavenge run; they had lucky to get everyone back alive after they had come across a Jaffa patrol party. He placed her carefully next to the other children, "I'm serious, Laura, Yarek isn't the most popular of people here, but at least he gets things done. Jaffa are increasing in this area and food's becoming scarcer. You've got to be careful."

Laura picked up a zat from the shelf and smiled at Xac, "Get some sleep – I'm just going to feed the Crazy." She smiled at her closest friends in the camp, who were beginning to clear some space before getting some sleep in the bunks that lined the walls of the common room, "See you in a bit."

Xac sighed as Laura disappeared down one of the tunnels. His wife Kate placed a hand on his shoulder, "You worry too much. If the world ends tomorrow, there ain't much we can do about anything. It's the same with everything else." She quirked a smile, "The only reason she ain't just leaving the Crazy alone is because Yarek hates him – you ain't never gonna get her to change."

Xac frowned, and made to help Kate with the broken water distiller, when Laura came running back into the room, frantically rummaging through their meagre collection of stolen medical equipment and drugs. She made so much noise that a few of the children sat up from sleep. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Laura didn't reply with an answer, instead she ordered, "Get me water, and blankets, now. Kate, we're gonna need you." She grabbed a few canisters from the medical box, and fled back down the corridor.

Everyone in the room just stood still for a second, until Kate hit her husband on the shoulder, shoving a few thin ragged blankets into her husband's hands, "Go! Emily, grab the water. There must be something wrong with the Crazy."

The little girl nodded, suddenyl awake, as her parents ran to the thick metal door that led to the small room that had always been used for a holding cell. It was wide open. Laura was knelt on the floor next to the unmoving body of their recent visitor, rumaging through some of their medicines. He didn't look too good. From the sweat that bathed his whole body, it looked like some sort of fever was reaching a critical level, and the paleness of the skin made him look more ghost than human. Xac said the first thing that came to mind, "Is he dead? Or contagious?"

Kate glared, before snapping sarcastically as she bent down to help, "Yes, that's why she's doing this."

"You sure you know what you're doing?"

Kate didn't look up, "I know more than anyone else here. Do you know why this might have happened?"

Xc wouln't let the subject lie, "What about Yarek? He won't be happy with you using our supplies on this guy…"

Laura snorted, "Well Yarek can go fuck himself. Too many people die everyday – we might be able to help this guy. Cover him over with those, and roll up one to cushion his head. And no, I don't know what's wrong; he was fine when I left, apart from the crazy bit."

Xac knew better than to argue further, and draped a few blankets over the man. He was about to put one under his head when Rodney's whole body stiffened and started shaking. Xac froze, "What the hell?"

Kate dropped what she was doing and grabbed the rolled up blanket from Xac, placing it under Rodney's head to prevent further injury, "Shit," Laura muttered, "As far as I know, that's the second one."

"What the hell is it?" Xac was completely freaked out.

"They're seizures. Look, they'll stop naturally, but you need to keep talking to him. What's his name?"

"Rodney." Laura supplied.

"Can he hear me?" Xac asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" Kate spat, "The point is, it might help."

Xac swallowed, but nevertheless began to talk quietly while Kate and Laura worked, muttering between each other. Emily came in, but didn't react, merely handing the murky glass of water to Laura and leaving again. Finally, Rodney's body stilled, causing Xac to check the pulse, terrified that the lack of movement meant death, "What's wrong with him?"

"Laura said he hasn't eaten." Kate answered, measuring ot some of he medicines.

"Well neither have I – don't mean I collapse and start freaking out like this."

"It's only in some people. He needs a chemical to stabilise his blood."

Xac rolled his eyes, "Don't get technical or specific on me Kate, I don't think I could cope."

The woman glared, "Look, I only know what I've heard about it. My father once had to treat this rich woman for it. He needs something to stabilise his blood, or he'll fall into a coma and die."

"How can you be sure it's the same thing?" Laura asked.

"Because he has all the symptoms, I have a damn good memory, and as you left, you said he he seemed to be a tiny bit distressed about wanting food. Just because I ain't any legitimate healer or nothing, doesn't mean I can't help him. Right, this should be it."

"_Should?_"

"It's one of two drugs, I'm sure this is the right one…"

"I thought you said you had a good memory."

"My father died when I was eight, unless you've forgotten. It's either glycogen or insulin."

"And if you're wrong?" Kate didn't answer, instead pushing the glycogen filled needle into Rodney's skin, "Have you given him enough?"

"I'm more worried I've given him too much. We'll know soon enough – it's relatively fast acting. But someone will need to stay with him."

" I will." Laura sighed, "Get some sleep, you two, thank you for your help."

"You sure?"

Laura nodded, handing Kate back the other medical supplies before shifting to a more comfortable cross-legged position.

* * *

Rodney's head was pounding, and he felt like shit. He knew what had happened without opening his eyes. It was a unique, sickly feeling that only came with collapsing from lack of eating, and by the feel of it, this time it had been really, really bad. He frowned slightly. Usually he ended up waking up in hospital when he felt this bad, but by the feel of it, he was on the ground. A very hard ground. He opened his eyes, causing a sharp spike in his headache. A wry face was staring down at him, "Morning sleepyhead." 

"Crap." Rodney muttered. The woman who didn't know what a doctor was happened to be leaning over him just as he was waking up from hypoglycaemic shock. Perfect.

"Gee, no 'thank you for saving my life'?" She rolled her eyes before reached across him and placing a bowl of food on his chest, "You should eat I guess. By the way, you're also now an official member of this camp. That glyco-stuff is expensive, and you damn well ain't leaving till you've earned it off. Or Yarek breaks your neck – whichever comes first."

Laura made to leave, but Rodney struggled onto his elbows, "Wait, you can't just leave! You need to help me get home!"

"I'm going to let that one slide - you don't seem completely deranged, but Yarek will kill you if he thinks you're a Crazy. Just keep whatever helps you sleep at night in this hell to yourself."

"No, I'm serious, you have to-"

"I don't have to do anything! I just saved your life, so all you need to do is grovel and be grateful. Leave me alone, I'm tired."

"Look, why don't you just forgo a few more precious minutes of your pointless time to humour me. Describe this world."

"You really recover fast, don't you?"

"Well I'm sorry for not being polite after almost dying thanks to your incompetence." Rodney snapped.

"Oh, for the love of Thoth." Laura muttered, before counting off on her fingers, "Our planet has been under the rule of the 'gods' and their Jaffa for as long as the sun has been in the sky. Had rebellions, got killed for our troubles. Resources have been getting scarce as of the last few centuries, meaning our main use is slaves. Jaffa patrols have a bit of fun here and there, but mainly it's refugee camps killing other camps for food. Power is all that matters around here. Water's poisoned, thanks to our benevolent gods, and the surface isn't a great place to be if you like your life. We live in these catacombs; build by these freakishly clever people, and the average life expectancy is about forty five. Ringing any bells yet, genius?"

Rodney merely stared at her in shock. This was really not his day. "How..?"

Laura shrugged, "Look, just help out, don't threaten to kill anyone and don't betray us to another camp, or _I_ will break your neck before Yarek can get close. If I like you enough, I might let you back into that place where we found you." She left before he could say anything else.

Rodney groaned, resting his forehead on his knees. This was a ridiculously extreme version of Earth, so much so it actually made him wish for the damn Air Force and the SGC.

He wasn't going to survive a week in this place.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: I only realised after starting write this how much of a hole I'd dug myself into. Oh well, hope it didn't turn out too implausible. Please review!


	3. Hope

Author Notes: I'm so sorry this took me so long, but I lost the internet for a week while I was moving home for the holidays. Please don't be mad! Anyway, here's the new chapter, but before you squeak at me when you read it, look at the note at the bottom. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Hope

"Will you stop complaining? It's only a little scratch."

Rodney glared, "A scratch? That guy nearly severed my arm off!"

Laura rolled her eyes as she finished tying the cloth that constituted as a bandage. "It's not like you didn't know to expect it. You've been on hundreds of raids before."

"Yeah, normal raids, not ones where Yarek decides it's a great idea to shoot anything that moves and ignore the rest of his team."

Laura's face darkened, "If he didn't contribute so much to our supplies, I would have thrown him out long ago."

Rodney stood, gingerly stretching his arm, wincing as the gash reopened slightly. "Thanks, I'm going down to the room."

"What? Like hell! You'll probably drop that control crystal of yours. You can stay up here."

Rodney pointedly ignored her, and began to make his way down the steps that led deeper into the honeycomb of Ancient tunnels He was extremely annoyed to find that she was following him. After over a year of knowing Laura, you would have thought she would have worked out by now that he worked alone. He entered the room, and sat down next to his scribbled chalk notes on the floor below a wall of writing he was slowly translating, "Look, will you just-"

"I'm pregnant."

Rodney snapped the chalk in his hand against the ground and stood up to face her cold face. He couldn't form any words, simply blinking stupidly at her from the shock of the random outburst. In the end, Laura kicked him in the shins to elicit a response, "Ow! How is that possible?"

Laura placed her hands on her hips, "Well Rodney, when two people get almost killed by death gliders and get very, very stressed, they have sex. Multiple times. Babies happen."

Rodney glared at the patronising tone. It was true. A couple of months ago, a raid had gone particularly bad, mainly due to the two legions of Jaffa that had decided to pop in. Sex had been the end result, about a mile from the catacombs when, to be honest, both of them had simply been happy to still be breathing. A stupid thing to do really, since they had only been on amicable terms to start with, and that night had only served to escalate the tension and awkwardness. And apparently parallel universes tended not to be up to date with contraception. "You can't be."

"I assure you, I am. And, contrary to what most people would think, I'm keeping it. I don't believe in killing humans unless it's self defence, so there's no argument."

Rodney ran a hand through his hair, "The birth will probably kill you."

Laura widened her eyes in mock shock, "Wow, Rodney, does this mean you might have a smidgen of selflessness?"

"Laura …"

"Look, McKay, you'll probably get out of here soon anyway according to your daily tirades. You won't need to bother." She turned and stormed out.

* * *

Xac ducked as a heavy metal object flew to crash into the wall just where his head had been, "McKay!"

Rodney turned, "It's pointless!"

Xac brushed off some of the dust that had flown in Rodney's small outburst, "What? No apology for almost caving my head in?"

Rodney sighed, sliding to sit against in still inactive pedestal, rubbing his tired face with his hands. Xac came to sit beside him. "It's no use."

Xac was shocked at the utterly defeated tone, "What is? Getting back to this universe of yours…" He paused, weighing up Rodney's anger level, "Or keeping your mind off Laura?"

"Both." The admission was quiet.

"Ah."

"How is she?"

"Doing okay, I guess, for a thirty hour labour. So does this mean you'll be giving up and sticking around? It has been almost two years."

Rodney laughed slightly, "Great, spending the rest of my life on a shithole planet with a woman I hate and a little annoying brat who shares both our genes. Do you realise how messed up this is? I hate kids, I hate Laura, hell, sometimes I even hate my own personality! How the hell is this going to work?"

"Look on the bright side, when it grows up, it'll have the combined smarts of both you and Laura."

Rodney smiled weakly, "Remind me how that is a good thing?"

"There's nothing that says you should give up on all of this, Rodney, just don't let it consume the rest of your life. Time here is too short for that."

McKay didn't answer, merely preferring to sit in silence with Xac until, many hours later, an eleven year old Den descended into the room, "Rodney? Kate said to tell you to get your ass up there before Laura physically gets out of bed just to shoot you for causing her that much pain." The boy grinned, "It's a girl, by the way."

* * *

Xac entered the common room to a funny sight. It was empty, as it usually was around the afternoon, save for Rodney, who was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room tinkering with their water distiller, making undoubtedly incredible improvements. In his lap was curled a tiny little girl, no older than five, but with the stature of a stick-thin three year old thanks to their diet. She was fast asleep, oblivious to her father's work, as he was oblivious to her.

All was quiet for a few minutes more, but just as Xac was about to offer to put the little girl to bed, there was a spark, and Rodney cried out jerking back his slightly burnt finger. Giggles erupted from the now awakened small child, who seemed to find it hilarious that her Dad had messed up the wiring. Rodney snapped, "Well I'm glad you find this funny. I'll have you know that if it had been any bigger, you would've been shocked too!" Both knew it was a lie, especially considering the lengths Rodney went to when it came to keeping his daughter safe from the hell that was above them.

The giggles only abated slightly as the girl stuffed a fist into her mouth to try and dull the sound. She stopped giggling only to retort, "Maybe if you were as clever as Mum…"

Rodney gasped in mock outrage, "How dare you! Admit I'm better!" He then began tickling her, making her squeak, wriggling to try and get him back. Xac smiled. No one ever saw this side of Rodney – he was only like it with his daughter, and then, only when he thought they were alone, but she still adored him for it. He remained in the shadows, watching, until he felt a presence at his elbow; Laura. She grinned, watching as the little bundle successfully escaped, only swing her arms around Rodney's neck and refuse to let go.

Xac had to admit, for a pair of people who threw insults at each other daily, and whose child was the result of a one night stand, the little girl was definitely an amazing child. Unlike most children her age, she somehow managed to retain her innocence, something which Xac mainly put down to both parents going to great lengths to make sure she never met with Yarek for prolonged periods, and the fact she had a very...unusual father. Laura walked into the room, "Hannah, sweetie, however fun it would be to see how long your Dad can last without oxygen, I think you should let go."

Hannah giggled again, before letting go and plonking herself back into Rodney's lap. Xac followed Laura into the room, and for a moment the little girl was quiet before she realised who it was. When she recognised him, she smiled, and chirped, "Hi Xac! Dad can't fix the distiller; I think he broke it worse."

"I did not break it worse!" Rodney let out an exasperated sigh when he realised he had copied his daughter's speech pattern, "It was never fixed to start with. Name one time this thing has actually produced water you can see through."

Xac shrugged, "He has a point kid."

The friendly atmosphere was immediately interrupted by Yarek striding in, "She ready?"

Rodney's eyes narrowed. "Ready for what?" The two men had never gotten along, but then, Yarek didn't get along with many people. His whole appearance and demeanour was imposing. At six foot four, with muscles on muscles, tan weathered skin and long hair that was twisted into dreadlocks, he looked like a Jaffa with too much hair. Not exactly a fluffy bunny kind of guy.

"She is going to help in the next raid. She needs practice if she's going to contribute."

"Like hell! She's five!"

"Your point? She's small; I need small kids for this job. And we already know she has teeth," He waved his marked hand in their faces, the result of an incident a few days previous, "Now it's time to test her."

"No." Both parents snapped simultaneously.

Yarek rolled his eyes, "I want her in the surface tunnel on the hour." He strode out.

Laura sighed, "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right, she can't be exempt; we need to all contribute."

"But…"

Laura shrugged in defeat, scooping up their daughter, "Come on Hannah, let's get going." She turned to Rodney, "I have to stay here-"

Rodney nodded, "I'll go; keep an eye on Yarek."

Xac watched as the patchwork family left, leaving him alone to continue with what he had been doing before. He sighed. So much for innocence.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: I know I said this would not be a romance, and it's not; they still have a healthy dislike for eachother, it was just a one night stand, and neither wanted a kid. In the original version of this story, Hannah became a main character, and then I wanted to burn her. With lots of pain. In this new version, I left her in as a plot device; she will only have a very minor prt in the next chapter, and then not at all, so please keep with me and let me know what you thought!


	4. Hell

Author Notes: Sorry again for the delay. You'd think holidays would make me update faster, but apparently not... Thanks for the continued support, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Time has moved forwards again.

Chapter 4: Hell

"He won't like it, and you know it." Laura sighed as she and her daughter sorted through their ammo reserves.

Hannah rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but what if I'm right? You've seen my calculations. You helped! And you agree with me!"

"He doesn't even know you go down there. If it were up to him you wouldn't even leave the main rooms."

Hannah opened a clip, checked it, and reinserted it into the gun she had stolen a few days previously, "I know, I know, as far as he's concerned, I'm just a kid…"

Laura smiled, "You know he doesn't think of you that way, it's just where he comes from-"

Hannah waved her hand dismissively, "That's exactly my point. I know Dad doesn't like to talk about it much, but he's taught me everything he knows, and I think there's a very slim chance he's unstable." Laura raised an eyebrow, "C'mon, Mum, you know what I mean. Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he shouldn't know. What if we could all leave?"

"Now you're just dreaming, Hannah, and you know it."

The girl smirked, "Yeah, but you have to admit, when have I ever been wrong?"

Laura sighed, "There is far too much of Rodney in you."

"Damn straight." At fourteen years old, Hannah McKay, daughter of two of the most intelligent, albeit abrasive, characters on their planet, was a complete enigma. She had so many sides to her that sometimes it was hard to keep up, even for her parents. Thanks the insistence of Rodney and his desire 'not to have a brain-dead bimbo for a daughter', Hannah was smart. Not necessarily in the conventional sense, but she had a natural ability for anything different; anything that the catacombs and her father could teach her. On the other hand, there was her mother's complete disregard for self preservation, combined with the simple fact that however hard Rodney had tried to keep his daughter as 'normal' as possible, she was a human of Earth, and that meant she was hardly a pacifist. Then again, neither was her father, not anymore.

Laura sighed once more, something she always seemed to be doing around Hannah, "Fine, he's due back from the scout mission any second. Go break the news."

Hannah grinned, holstering her new gun as she walked swiftly in the direction of the surface tunnels. Sure enough, Den was already on his way to get something to eat; the scouts had been away for over a day. She scanned the group, giving a wide berth to Yarek, before crouching down next to a man checking his kit, "Hey Dad. Have fun?"

Rodney glared, "Oh yeah, bucket loads." His eyes narrowed, "What have you done?"

Hannah put on a mock affronted look, before her face spilt into a grin, "Come on, you're gonna like it - promise."

Rodney stood, and began following his daughter down the tunnels that led to the deeper catacombs, "The last time you said that, you had made everyone boiled dirt for dinner."

"So I'm not a great cook. Neither are you. Deal with it."

"Hannah, I'm tired; this had better be important."

"Trust me."

"Hannah, what-" Rodney froze. He had been so tired, he hadn't particularly been paying attention to where they were going, until he found himself staring at the damn Ancient pedestal. He hadn't been down here in weeks, and at first it looked as if nothing had changed, until he saw a mass of chalk scrawlings on the floor; translations. "What is this?"

"Just bear with me, okay?"

"Hannah, look, I'm sorry to burst your bubble here, but I think if there was a way to make this damn thing work, I would have found it already."

Hannah smiled softly, ignoring her father's jibe, "Maybe you just needed a fresh pair of eyes. Take a look."

"Hannah, there is no way…" Rodney trailed off, "Huh. Well, that looks vaguely…I suppose you…"

Hannah raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah, I am so much smarter than you."

"This part can't be right." Rodney gestured to a section translated from the device itself.

Laughing, Hannah placed her hands on her hips, "No offence Dad, but _no one_ ages as well as you are; especially not with the kind of lifestyle we lead. You're being kept this age."

"No, it doesn't work that way. Parallel universes-"

"You're living proof! Your universe must be stood still or something!"

"No, no, now you're just being stupid."

"Well, what then? Because I know my translations are right. This thing is a learning tool. For Ancients or whoever to see how other universes turned out. I guess they picked the most extreme to make it more interesting. And you're not aging because you're still tied to the one you were born in." She folded her arms stubbornly.

"No, no that's wrong. Time is relative, true, but this device couldn't simply stop time from moving in my universe. Even though that could explain my age, it's just not possible."

Hannah shrugged, "Well, I don't know Dad, maybe it shoves the whole other universe into a freaking time loop; I just thought you might be interested."

For a second, Rodney looked like he was actually considering his daughter's wild suggestion, but he quickly dismissed it for something more plausible. Hannah watched as her father's face turned slowly from a look of confusion to one of utter shock, "God, I've been so stupid!"

"Don't let Mum hear you say that."

"The very theory of multiverse means that anything is possible. Somewhere, there's a universe where humans never evolved, or where the Goa'uld chose to use Asgard for hosts, or _whatever!_"

"Dad…"

"The point is, it also works in relatives for time, so much so that it has been theorised that the person doing the travelling might alter the destination universe. You're right, to a point – my universe could be seen as standing still. But in actual fact, it's us who are moving faster."

"Dad."

"My presence here is accelerating everything in this universe, so that years can pass in only a few seconds for me. I'm like exotic particles, if you will, but as there's no other me here, there's no rejection, and as I'm larger than simple particles, I don't affect this universe to any detrimental degree. Yet. I suppose this device wouldn't be used for too extended a period, or the invasion would break the universe apart-"

"Dad!"

"Yes?"

"Shut up!"

"Look, basically, it means I can go home. All I need to do is configure the crystals to the reset stage, something I hadn't wanted to do before in case it killed me."

Hannah smiled, but then, "Wait, what about me? The rest of us?"

Rodney paused for a moment, and then his face fell, "You would be theoretically fine – you have DNA from both universes, you wouldn't affect mine, the device would see you as a returning traveller. But everyone else…"

"They'd put your universe on fast-forward."

"Basically."

Hannah sighed, "But you can't stay."

"No."

As was her habit when nervous, Hannah removed a small blade from her wristcuff and began twirling it between her fingers, "Don't make me choose, Dad."

"I-"

Rodney broke off as footsteps echoed from the doorway, running at full pelt. Emily jumped into view – literally – by leaping down the last flight of five steps into the room. She gasped out, "Jaffa. Those new creepy ones. They followed the scout party back. And their god Anubis has landed."

Hannah blinked, "What's a god doing here?"

Rodney paled, "Anubis and Ancient technology. Crap. Where is everybody?"

An explosion showered dust from the ceiling. Emily shook her head, "Making it out any escape route possible – those who survived the first blast." Her voice caught slightly, indicating that either one or both of her parents were dead, "Come on!" She disappeared, not wanting to risk her life further.

Shots rang louder; Hannah drew and charged her gun, "Dad?"

Rodney was already at work, hands flitting over crystals and panels. He ignored her.

"Dad! There's still the north tunnel. We can make it, it's the only way out of this room that isn't up those stairs!"

"Wrong." The control crystal flared into life, and then dulled, just as it had done the first time, so many years ago by Rodney's point of view.

"I am not leaving Mum!"

Rodney stood so that he was taller than his daughter, "You and I both know she's already dead – or worse. It's not a camp raid; it's an organised Jaffa attack. No one is getting out alive!"

Hannah looked at her Dad, knowing he spoke the truth. She trusted him, "Alright. You first."

Voices rang above them, getting closer. Rodney grabbed his daughter's hand, and grasped the crystal. He felt the same sensation as before, and then his feet smashed into solid ground. Of a lab. Dazed, he smiled, and then realised something. His hand felt strangely empty, as if grasping only air. He whirled around. Hannah was no where to be seen. His clothes were the same as a few seconds ago, he still had a gun and a blade, and yet his daughter was nowhere to be seen, and the coffee mug on his desk was still steaming from when he had poured it so many years ago. His legs turned to jelly as he leant against the desk. He felt sick. He had abandoned her. Blinking furiously, he forced his mind to remember everything so common to his Earth, and checked the power levels on the device. He closed his eyes, trying to make the readings wrong. There was no way he had enough power to go back for her. He would never see Hannah again; she was probably already dead.

* * *

Hannah was confused. Her whole being felt weird, like her very cells had been rejected. One second her Dad had been cutting off the circulation in her hand, the next she was grasping at thin air, and her surroundings were exactly the same. Her mind froze up, completely terrified, but her instincts weren't in accord. Her body worked automatically, snatching the control crystal out of its holder, in case Anubis ruined any chance she had of finding her father, and ran full pelt down the north tunnel. She did the only thing a human was truly good at. She hid.

* * *

He felt numb. It wasn't the cold. It wasn't the familiar yet unfamiliar and trivial surroundings. He just felt…numb. The past twenty four hours had passed in surreal form of normalcy. Everything was perfect. The car to the airport, the flight to Antarctica, the ride to the outpost, the tour of the outpost…the list went on. He was vaguely aware of making increasingly snarky comments, but wasn't quite sure how he came up with them when he couldn't even work out what anyone was saying.

* * *

Dr Carson Beckett scanned the large medical file of his new patient. Ever since he had taken up this new posting, he had taken upon himself to meet and check-up every new addition to the base. It wasn't particularly necessary, but he had a strange feeling they might be here a while, and odd things, usually of the dangerous variety, tended to happen quite frequently around the scientists. He was about to meet the new Head of Science, and from the rumours he had heard, the guy was going to be a tough one to crack. Nevertheless, he smiled as a new face entered his makeshift infirmary under the ice, watching with curiosity as the man dismissed the escorting Marine with more than simple distain.

The check-up was meant to be simply talking, going over medical history, the normal get-to-know stuff. But as their little interview continued, Carson began to get more and more worried. Dr McKay was disturbingly pale, even considering the cold, and his gaze always seemed to be unfocused. Finally, Carson smiled as casually as he could, and gently took the physicist's wrist. By this point in their conversation – which had been deteriorating for a while – Rodney barely seemed to notice. Carson was shocked to find a rapid, weak pulse, and immediately shifted to full Doctor mode. The man didn't even protest, as if any fight that had been keeping him going had simply drained away.

Three hours later, Carson was seated on an adjoining medical bed, making a few notes while still watching his patient – hardly a great first meeting, but it made him increasingly glad he had insisted on check-ups, or he was certain the poor lad would have collapsed in the labs of exhaustion. What had brought it on, Carson could only guess, but Rodney had fallen into a rapid state of shock. Not only that, but considering his hypoglycaemic condition, it looked like he wasn't getting all the food he should have been. Currently asleep, wrapped in numerous blankets, Dr Beckett was just trying to work out whether this fell under any jurisdiction that meant he had to inform them when Rodney sat up sharply, making the doctor jump.

Rodney began to pull out his IV, confused, and scrambled to get up in the oddly comfortable bed before Carson placed a hand on his shoulder, and it all came rushing back. He couldn't prevent the small sob that escaped, "Oh God…"

Call it Scottish intuition, but Carson had a feeling this might be a long night. He wasn't wrong. It hadn't taken much to break through Rodney's exhausted and weakened defences and make him recount, well, just about everything. The device, Laura, Yarek, Hannah, thousands of Jaffa, a living hell. Carson listened patiently, until Rodney stopped talking, and slumped exhausted onto the pillows, "I s'pose you're gonna have me committed, right?"

Carson raised an eyebrow, contemplating his answer, "No, lad, I'm not."

Rodney looked at him in sheer disbelief, "You're sure? Not just some case of a genius gone a little too loony?"

Carson smiled softly, "I am currently on Earth, in an alien outpost, doing research with international specialists on an alien gene that has somehow surfaced in the human genome. You'll forgive me if I don't discount you completely."

"But…"

Carson waved a hand, rising to leave the room and leave the scientist alone in his thoughts to finally accept what had happened, "Goodnight Rodney."

No more conversation was needed. No one else was told. For three whole years, Rodney McKay lived and breathed Ancient technology, hiding the empty part of him from the world. Occasionally, his other self would surface, like when a sudden paternal instinct emerged on the children's planet, making the two little ones learn how to hide, even when he had seemed hateful to them at all other times. At other times, when he was not in control thanks to pain, drugs or withdrawal, Carson always made sure that he stayed with his friend, never letting anyone else find out about the little secret found only now in Rodney's nightmares.

Until one day, when family suddenly once more became a slight possibility in his life, with the arrival of Jeannie Miller on Atlantis.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: I know this was not the direction most people expected this story to go, but I hope you like it anyway. Please review :)


	5. Thunder

Author Notes: Thanks for the support! The story has taken a big jump in time now, and is set directly after season 3's McKay and Mrs Miller. Enjoy :)

Chapter 5: Thunder

"Finally." Lieutenant Greenwood sighed as Doctors Beckett and Zelenka stepped through the Stargate.

Greenwood didn't bother with any further conversation, instead turning about and striding off down the path already beaten by his team. Zelenka sighed something unintelligible, but Carson had a funny feeling it had something to do with ignorant soldiers not grateful that their universe had been prevented from caving in. From what Carson understood, it had been close, and had drained all of their ZPM, but he had so far had the sense to stay out of Rodney's way, and so did not know the full details. Besides, the CSO would be wanting to spend more time with his sister. Probably.

Carson frowned as raised voices began to penetrate the woodland. One was Major Lorne, the commander of the team, and the one who had radioed for the assistance of the two men. The other was presumably native, as there was no woman on Lorne's team as far as Carson knew. "What is this about?"

Greenwood looked uncomfortable for a moment, "We, erm, think we activated something. Major Lorne has the ATA gene, so, yeah."

Radek and Carson exchanged worried looks at this vague answer. They increased their pace, until they were in a tiny clearing that allowed entrance to a small cave-like structure. More of an overhang really, as the only thing that could fit was a strange device that was far beyond Carson's expertise. The fifth addition to Lorne's team however…

"Will you just give me your gun!" Lorne's voice was hardly the embodiment of calm; apparently his personality didn't gel with the stranger who stood before him.

"I thought I told you to fuck off?" The stranger folded her arms, "My gun, not yours. Go find your own."

Lorne's face grew darker, but then he noticed the two doctors, "Ah, finally."

Radek rolled his eyes, "Why do they all say that?"

Carson looked between everyone worriedly, "What happened here?"

"We were investigating the power output of this device when I activated it and materialised..._her _into being."

Before Carson could ask anything further, the stranger snorted, "Oh please – I'm impressed you can even make your gun work! The chances of you ever being able to comprehend, let alone activate, anything as complex as that device are equal to that of me turning purple. Don't flatter yourself."

Lorne seemed to take a very deep breath, and then spoke in a neutral tone, "Beckett, perhaps you could talk to her, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot."

"Dear gods, how long did it take you to come up with that one?"

Carson looked at Zelenka, who seemed as baffled as he was, "I'm sorry, lass, what do you mean?"

Lorne scowled, "When she materialised, she, well, she landed on my foot."

"Something I can honestly say I do not regret."

Carson sighed; so much for peace and quiet, "Major Lorne, why don't you show Radek everything? I think it would be best if I talked to lass alone."

Under normal circumstances, Lorne might have felt a bit ruffled to be given an order by a scientist, but on this occasion, he was more than glad. Carson waited until he was sure they were well enough out of the way before cautiously stepping forwards. She was scowling, and her body posture was defensive. Well, no better place to start than with introductions, "My name is Doctor Beckett, or Carson if you like. What's yours?"

She blinked, her eyes suddenly hopeful, as if someone had removed curtains from behind them, "You're a 'doctor'? I mean, that's your title?"

"Aye, lass, are you hurt?"

Her face split into a slight smile, "I'm looking for a doctor. Not you I mean, but I dunno, maybe there's like a list or something."

For a moment, Carson was thrown by her sudden complete conversion from hostile to vaguely open and friendly, before he repeated his first question, "Sorry, but what do I call you?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, right, sorry, but you're the first vaguely smart person I've met, well I mean…" She paused, catching herself before she went off on another tangent, "My name is Laura. And I'm looking for a Doctor Rodney McKay. Know one?"

Carson blinked in shock. The rest of the Atlantians were with Zelenka; none of them wanting to get close to the sharp-tongued woman, and hadn't heard a thing. He said the first thing that came to mind, "But you're dead! Rodney told me you were dead!"

* * *

_Dr McKay? You are required in the infirmary immediately._

The voice rang clear in Rodney's earpiece, cutting him off mid-sentence in his goodbye to Jeannie before she left the next day. He sighed, "What? I'm busy."

_It was insisted, sir, I'm sorry._

Jeannie bit her lip awkwardly, "If you've got to avert a disaster, I won't mind you leaving."

Rodney sighed, "No, I guess, well, you might as well come too, I mean, if you want to. You'll want to say goodbye to Carson, right? And that guy sleeps like a log in the mornings."

Jeannie smiled. She knew it was a lie, that her brother was trying to keep up conversation, and she was deeply hopeful and grateful for it, "Sure."

The pair made their way swiftly through Atlantis, on the way meeting up with John and Elizabeth, who had clearly also been called. By the looks of it, they had come straight from the Gateroom after seeing Ronon and Teyla off on their little information excursion. "Do you know what this is about?" Rodney asked accusingly to the Colonel.

John shrugged. Elizabeth frowned, replying vaguely, "I approved Major Lorne's decision, but he wasn't too specific on the details. I wasn't able to be present; they returned in Jumper Two." They reached the infirmary, and headed in the direction where they could see Beckett standing in the entrance of an isolation room. Carson's soft brogue could be heard too. The four entered the room. Carson was leaning against the wall in a seemingly relaxed manner, talking to an almost skeletal woman who was sitting on a bed. Both John and Jeannie, who were on either side of Rodney, felt his whole body freeze up and his muscles tense. The woman hopped off the bed and pulled a cold smirk across her face, "Miss me?"

The comment made John frown; who the hell was this? Conversely, it seemed to break Rodney from his shock. He took a step into the room, "How…how..?"

The woman dropped all pretence of a smile, and there seemed to be an air about her that suggested that if she had been a normal person, she would be crying. Before anyone could say anything further, the waif-like visitor had taken one step forwards and thrown her arms tightly around Rodney's neck, burying her face in his collarbone. If that hadn't been enough of an absurdity, John watched as Rodney actually returned the hug, he too looking as if he was scared of letting go. Carson seemed content to not interrupt.

And then suddenly the woman broke out of the hug, and promptly slapped Rodney across the face. Hard. "You bastard."

Everyone seemed taken aback by this change of mood. Rodney moved his hand up to his cheek in shock and bewilderment, and for once, he had no retort. Everything had just gone beyond the land of what was surreal. John moved forwards in confusion, as did Carson; Rodney was looking exactly the same as he had when they had first met in Antarctica, and that had not ended well. In fact, he looked just about ready to bolt. First his sister on Atlantis, then his weird duplicate that was not him, and now this. And the fact that Elizabeth had brought John along and Jeannie was in the room as well just made everything more claustrophobic. "What-"

And then the woman was attacking Rodney, with violent shoves and slaps which were clearly intended to be harder had it not been for her malnourished state. Too overwhelmed to put up much of a defence, the scientist backed up. John jumped forwards, and grabbed the slight woman around the waist, pulling her backwards, and meeting a surprisingly strong resistance. After a few moments, she stopped struggling, and simply stared at Rodney with dead eyes. He stared back. No one knew what to say. And then the woman opened her mouth, clearly pronouncing five, cold words, "You let him get her."

Everyone except Carson exchanged looks of complete confusion and worry. The doctor rested his eyes on his friend worriedly. Rodney's eyes stared blankly at the woman from another world, his face draining of all colour. And then he turned on his heel, and all but ran from the room. Jeannie followed him with her eyes, and then, giving the strange woman one more look, went after her older brother.

A strangled sob escaped the mystery woman in John's arms, and her knees buckled. The Colonel eased her to the floor, looking to Carson for guidance. Elizabeth managed to gather her thoughts, "What on Earth is going on here? Carson – who _is_ this?"

Carson, contrary to his usual nature, ignored their leader, instead beckoning one of his nurses over, "Give her the usual check. And a sedative. The poor lass needs sleep."

As the nurse led the now passive Laura to another room, John spoke up, tension and protective anger for his teammate clear in his voice, "Beckett, what the hell? _'The poor lass'_? She just attacked McKay!"

Carson regarded them both with a cool expression, gauging whether to tell them, or just to go straight after Rodney. In the end, he decided he'd probably need help with this one. "Dr Weir, Colonel, that woman is Laura, the mother of Rodney's daughter, Hannah McKay. She's had a rough journey, so I think it's best if we just let her sleep. From what I know, she's no risk to us."

Elizabeth blinked in polite shock, while John just unashamedly gaped in denial.

Carson sighed, giving them both an apologetic shrug. This was going to be a long week.

* * *

Jeannie ran after her brother, grabbing his arm, and wrenching him around to face her, "Mer – what the hell?"

Rodney refused to meet his sister's gaze, instead quietly asking, "Let me go please."

"No! What was that back there? Who is she? And why did she attack you?" Her voice was rising, attracting some odd looks, but she didn't care. Rodney tried to shake her grip, but she held firm, "Talk to me Meredith."

And then her brother did raise his eyes, making Jeannie let go of him in shock. Never, in all her life, through all their sibling rivalries and fights, had she seen Rodney's eyes look so blankly cold. "She's from a lifetime ago. She doesn't matter anymore. None of them do."

And he strode off, leaving his sister with more questions than when she had started.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: I know a few of you wanted Hannah to come to Atlantis, and in the original version, that's what happened. But then the story stopped being about Rodney, and was all about Hannah, and I ended up writing her so selfishly and Mary-Sueish that the original point of the story disappeared. So I took my revenge and deleted her, replacing her with the more mature Laura. I hope this new version is better, and would appreciate a small review of your opinions. Thanks for reading!


	6. Orion

Author Notes: Thanks for the feedback guys. Hope you like this chapter, it might be the last for a while as I go back to uni soon so will be very busy with silly essays.

Chapter 6: Orion

Explanations had been sketchy at best. Rodney wasn't relinquishing any information anytime soon, especially in front of John and Elizabeth. Carson tried to fill in what he knew, finally recounting Rodney's tale after keeping it quiet for so long. Laura was deceptively forthcoming; she would answer any question concerning where she had come from, but always managed to avoid the ones they really wanted answered, like about her past with Rodney, their daughter, or how she had come to be in their universe.

All in all, it left a very confused head of Atlantis and a shocked head of military trying to get their heads around the day's events in Weir's office. Carson smiled tentatively as he entered the office, handing Elizabeth a tablet, "She's getting better. I've got her on supplements and am trying to get her body weight up. She and Rodney still haven't seen each other since the yesterday, and to be honest, that's probably a good thing for both of them physically. Mentally though...someone needs to get Rodney to open up, and I don't know about you, but I'm meeting a brick wall here."

There was silence for a moment, until Elizabeth sighed, scrubbing her tired face with her hands, "How can this be real?"

John snorted, "We hardly lead a normal base of operations here. I'm still trying to get my head around an Earth controlled by Goa'uld for thousands of years. Could you imagine? Hell, could you imagine McKay lasting there for fifteen years?"

"Aye, I know what you mean."

Weir shook her head, "I don't care who she is, or where she's from, the question remains of what we do with her now."

John shrugged, "The Daedalus doesn't leave until tomorrow."

Carson shook his head, "You can't. I think Dr Heightmeyer will agree with me on this – until those two resolve their problems in dealing with their past, if you send one away, the other one will have to follow. Besides, it would be irresponsible just sending her there without us knowing what would happen to her when she arrived."

"Carson's right, John, and we can't afford to lose Rodney. Until I get orders from Earth on the matter, she'll have to stay."

* * *

"Are you sure?" Rodney tried to keep the hope out of his voice, continuing to scribble in the new notebook he had started since Laura's return. Jeannie had tried to get him to explain, but he had flat out refused. In reality, he was trying to figure out a way to sort out their universes. Laura couldn't stay here without fundamentally altering their world, but every time he figured out a solution, there was always the guilt hanging over his head – could he really send her back to that Hell?

Jeannie sighed exasperatedly, "I can't leave you like this Mer! I miss Madison and Caleb, but at least I know they're safe. You're life has just gone beyond complicated, and this is partly a family matter. I want to learn what has really been going on these past four years."

Rodney smiled weakly, "Thanks."

Jeannie simply nodded.

* * *

Laura lay awake in her darkened room off the infirmary, watching the moonlight on the ceiling. She couldn't sleep; her mind kept turning to Rodney.

Sighing, Laura sat up and swung her feet to the cool floor, allowing her bare toes to assimilate the odd sensation of a completely smooth floor that wasn't metal. She could tell almost everyone in Atlantis was unhappy about her arrival; she upset their perfect balance. Nevertheless, apparently they had decided to give her the months that it took the Daedalus to return to Earth and back with orders concerning her stay. Making up her mind, realising that she wouldn't be able to sleep, Laura rose silently, and padded barefooted to the doorway. She slid silently out, smiling as she made no sound that her guard, with his back turned to her, could hear.

As Laura slipped unnoticed out of the infirmary, she thought on how different this place was. If this had been her Earth, there would have been no way she would have gotten away with that. There was a time when even Rodney would have woken at the slightest sound, but it seemed that he had completely let go of any habits that hailed back to her life. Suppressing a sigh, the Laura crept out into the corridor, intent finding at least a slight crack in the surface of this perfect city – nothing should be this flawless. Cautious exploration. Xac had preferred suicidal tendencies, but Atlantis was unlikely to reveal any legions of Jaffa, and so she felt relatively safe.

She hadn't been exploring for very long, when, "I doubt the base security would appreciate your little night time wanderings dear."

Laura probably would have decked the Scotsman if he had been standing any closer, she had no idea how he had managed to appear behind her without her noticing. "For the love of Seth! How the hell'd you creep up on me like that?"

Carson smiled, raising an eyebrow, "Impressive; two different religions in one sentence."

Laura shrugged, "I've never seen the point in restraining my language. If the situation looks bad, it probably is, and there's no reason to try and make it seem better."

Carson leaned against the wall, his eyes sparkling, "What are you doing up, lass?"

"What are you doing up?" Laura retorted.

"I asked first, and technically out of the two of us, I'm the one who is allowed to be standing here, but since you're curious, I was doing paperwork and thinking about a new arrival Atlantis has recently acquired."

"Really, and what do you think of them?" It was an honest question. She was curious why this man was so damned friendly. She had talked to him more than Rodney at any rate.

Carson shrugged, "I haven't decided."

Laura folded her arms, but Carson merely smiled, walking forwards and gently taking her by the hand. Walking as silently as anyone she knew from her world, Carson led Laura through the darkened halls of the city, until they reached a doorway from which a slight breeze wafted through, "Err, Doc?"

"Do you know the myth of Atlantis?"

"Sorry, no."

"Then why don't you take a real look at her." Carson led her through the doorway, and it was one of those rare moments when Laura's mind was completely wiped blank, which, considering all that she had seen in her life, was a pretty hard task, "The sunken city of Atlantis, recently renamed to the floating city."

Quietly, Carson guided Laura to the balcony overlooking the sparking water and the shining stars. He had suspected, but hadn't been completely certain. They remained leaning on the balcony, allowing the salty wind to swirl around them for some time, until Laura whispered with a childlike quality to her voice that she thought she had lost long ago, if she had ever had it at all, "Is that a sea?"

"Aye, but you should probably be called an ocean – far bigger."

"It doesn't look real. Are we actually…"

"Floating? Aye, but you'd haveta ask Rodney to explain the specifics."

"It's beautiful. It reflects the sky. I never knew there were so many stars, or that you could have so much clear water in one place…"

Carson smiled softly, "You should go and wake Rodney – make him watch a sunrise with you. I sometimes think he only ever sees the science of this place." Laura didn't reply, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and looking skyward to the moon. Her eyes had darkened considerably, the spell broken, but Carson felt this needed to be said, "You need to talk to him Laura. He can't understand if you don't let him. He never meant to leave her; he thought the machine would bring them both here."

Laura barked a laugh, an icy mirth dancing in her eyes. "He is not the man I knew for fourteen years. He is the man I knew for the first two."

Carson sighed. This was going nowhere. He decided to change topic, "Elizabeth has granted you freedom within the city, as long as you're with either a senior member of the staff, or two escorts."

"Two escorts - aren't I popular? Is one of them that charming Major Lorne? I felt we established a rapport that day."

Carson snorted, "I'm sure."

Laura smirked, "He deserved every second I made him squirm."

Carson rolled his eyes, "You and Rodney are more alike than either of you will admit. Come on - back to bed with ye, before your guard has a coronary."

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: Just a little insight into Rodney and Laura for you there:) Please review.


	7. Rain

Author Notes: Thanks for all the great feedback guys, I love reading them. Just a warning for this chapter, there are allusions to adult themes of rape and suicide, but nothing explicit or graphic, just thought I'd let you know beforehand in case that sort of thing bothers you. Hope you like the chapter!

Chapter 7: Rain

Rodney sat on the pier. It had been three days since Laura's unexpected reappearance, three days in which he had barely stopped. He knew he should have talked to her, tried to find out what had happened back on that other Earth, with his other life, but he just couldn't. Instead, he had done the only thing he could think of doing – he had thrown himself into his work. God knew how many times Carson and Jeannie had been to see him since she had arrived. They seemed to be taking it in turns; one staying with Laura, the other trying to get through to him. Radek, too, was practically a second shadow, seemingly worried that Rodney might make a mistake in his labs. In the end, he had had enough, simply walking out on a particularly strong argument with one of the newest additions to the science team.

Rodney closed his eyes, trying to make the ocean calm him, but it didn't work. Every time he let his vision turn inward, all he saw was images from those fifteen years of hell. Even if technically he hadn't lived them in real time, it had been real enough – Laura proved that. On the floor next to him, McKay's discarded ear piece bleeped. Silently, he took it up in his hand, weighing it. As he focused on the inanimate object, he felt all his emotions build up in his throat, the ones that had been trying to ignore. For a moment, his whole body felt suffocated, and then he made a fist around it, and threw it as far as he could out to the water. Breathing hard, he tried to get his mind off the completely overwhelming subject of Laura, and well, everything. Science, science was safe; science was…who was he kidding? It was science that had caused this screw up in the first place!

Rodney found his mind slip unbidden to Hannah, the only child he had ever loved. Dead, undoubtedly, after those words Laura had spoken to him the first day. Hannah would know what to do right now, more than anyone here or on the alternate Earth, she would know how to cope. He, on the other hand, was a complete mess – he wasn't going to deny it. Rodney shook his head – nowhere was quiet enough to make him calm, his brain was too loud. It would be easier to simply just face it all, and ignore it at the same time. He gave to ocean one last look, and then headed back to the labs.

* * *

John listened silently as he sat across from Elizabeth for lunch. God knew where Rodney was, probably in his labs. Teyla and Ronon were still offworld, but due back the next morning. Everything was going well on their mission, but they had yet to be told the news of Atlantis' guest. Everyone else on the other hand…well, to say the least, the mess hall was damned chatty. Conversation was at a lower level than normal, as said subject of discussion was eating in the corner by a window with Jeannie and Carson. They seemed happy enough, but John could see even at this distance how everything was still surreal to the woman. She seemed pleasant enough, and John could tell she was older than her years. He knew there was more behind what had happened between her and Rodney than anyone was letting on, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

A scrapping of chairs caught the corner of John's eye. Elizabeth subtly looked up too. The three were depositing the remains of their food and leaving. Their movements were especially tracked by a group of Marines, who were still antsy at how the woman someone keeps managing to sneak out, away from her guards at night. As soon as they three were through the transporter, the mess burst into a flurry of conversations far louder than before. Elizabeth sighed, "Have you talked to Rodney recently?"

"No. He doesn't wanna talk to anyone. I heard Zelenka rant about it earlier to Carson. He's still trying to get his head around it. We all are."

Elizabeth gave him a crooked smile, "I know. Of all the people on this base to have a daughter, with a woman such as Laura, McKay would have been the last person I would have bet on."

"It's just…"

"Insane?"

John grinned, "Completely."

* * *

"Come again?"

John suppressed a grin at Ronon's sceptical remark. He nodded, "Yep, welcome to the weirdness."

"When did she arrive?" Teyla had a bewildered look on her face that far surpassed Ronon's.

Elizabeth sighed, "Four days ago. To say the least it's been…tense. But she finally seems to be settling in."

"With some of us anyway." John muttered. Teyla raised an eyebrow.

Elizabeth elaborated, "Her and Rodney's history is...beyond complicated."

"I do not understand." Teyla frowned, "She is the mother of his child, is she not?"

John shrugged, "Yeah, but this is McKay we're talking about. The guy doesn't have one simple relationship."

"Where is McKay?" Ronon asked.

John sighed, "I'm going down to the labs in a minute. Zelenka told me he was in there most of the night, so we're going for some lunch, whether he agrees to it or not."

Teyla nodded, "We have already been cleared by Dr Beckett, so we will probably see you down there."

Ronon stood up and made to leave, "Yeah, natives make me hungry."

Elizabeth smiled, "I have some paperwork to be getting on with. You'll probably see Laura down there. John? I want to see Rodney up here at some point today, and he'll probably listen to you more than me at the moment."

"Sure."

* * *

Jeannie looked up as the doors to the transporter slid open and Ronon and Teyla entered the mess hall. Laura had her back to them and was still absently drinking her water before she wandered off to see Radek in the labs; she had found that with this routine, she could effectively avoid Rodney. She still hadn't seen him since the first day, now sharing quarters with Jeannie, a far more tolerable McKay, surprisingly alike in some ways to her daughter. Laura's stomach gave a wrench as her thoughts turned to the past few years since Anubis' attack and Rodney's disappearance. It was funny, all the time she had spent trying to get to him, and now they were in the same city…

Jeannie waved Teyla over as Ronon grabbed them some food. Laura looked up suspiciously. How many smiley, happy people did this damn place have? The woman smiled warmly, "Greetings. I am Teyla Emmaugan, leader of the Athosian peoples and friend of your husband. You are Laura I believe?"

Laura almost choked, before replying flatly, "No, it's Hathor the Almighty. And that man is not, never has been, never in his wildest nightmares will be my husband, spouse, partner, or any other turn of phrase that would mean I like him."

Teyla frowned slightly, "I apologise, I thought..." She trailed off, seeing Jeannie's look of warning, "How are you finding Atlantis?"

"Shiny. Perfect. Happy."

Teyla completely misunderstood the words, missing the sarcasm and cold tone that laced the words, "I remember when I first came to the city of the Ancestors. It is humbling to walk these halls for my people."

"Well then no offence lady, you've been living in a bubble. All you damn Athosians are the same. Ancestors this, Ancients that, who gives a fuck? All they did was make loads of crappy technology and get themselves extinct from what I can gather. You lot need to stop living in the past – your 'ancestors' are not gonna help you, they'll quite happily watch you die for being too slow. Damn, you sound like the Crazies."

Teyla looked like she had been plunged into a bucket of cold water, "Excuse me?"

"Whatever. Give me a bell when you wake up out of dream land."

"Laura!" Jeannie tried.

Two food trays were set down on the table next to the blunt woman, and a man sat down. Everything else happened in a blink of the eye. One second Laura was sitting there, and then the next, she was on her feet, knife in hand, kicking Ronon with all her might before scrambling backwards. Jeannie and Teyla both shot to their feet. The once calm woman was breathing hard, eyes wide with a distinct look about her that screamed a cornered animal. The mess hall had gone completely silent. Ronon, recovering from the initial shock, picked himself up off the floor to face the woman, shock registering on his face, "What did you do that for?" He saw the knife that had formerly been attached to his belt, and took a step forwards, "Give me that."

Jeannie swallowed, not wanting to provoke anything further, "Laura …"

Ronon made a lunge for the knife, but Laura had already ducked, using her slight weight and form to dodge him and skid behind him, lashing out with blade, kicks, nails and teeth. Ronon's natural reflexes were the only thing that kept his throat from being cut. The woman was going psycho, and besides that point, he was being attacked by _McKay's_ ex. Under normal circumstances, he would have just snapped the neck of his attacker, but instead he tried to disarm her. Unfortunately, she was really damned fast, and she was fighting in no actual discipline, more in some unexplained panic, making it twenty times more difficult.

Teyla ran forwards, but was thrown back with a punch from Ronon that had completely missed its mark. "Laura! Stop!" Jeannie desperately yelled, but everything was moving too fast. Someone was going to get badly hurt.

* * *

John dragged Rodney into the transporter, and punched in the mess hall. McKay was sulking, wishing he was back in the safety of his private lab, no doubt. They exited the transporter to utter chaos, just in time to see Teyla fly backwards from Ronon and a sliver of a woman who was fighting like a wildcat. No one in the hall seemed to know what to do. Many were calling for security, but none of them seemed to think it was wise or at all safe to get anywhere near a Satedan on the defensive and an insane violent woman from a parallel universe.

John stood in shock at the sight. Rodney blinked, a look of complete fear crossing his face before it was replaced by a blank resolve. He broke into a run, straight at the pair. Ducking Ronon's attempt at a disarming in time with Laura, Rodney grabbed both her wrists from behind, purposely falling backwards, dragging her with him, making the struggling form fall on his chest. In one smooth movement, he flipped them both onto their sides, holding her wrists behind her with one hand and harshly grabbing her throat with the other, effectively pinning her legs with his own. She fought violently, but in that position, her size and weight left her at a disadvantage. Rodney loosened his grip slightly, hissing through his teeth, "Laura, it's me, I need you to stop this shit now or we are both gonna get shot. Nod if you agree."

The mess hall was in utter silence, everyone in shock at not only the way Laura had suddenly gone crazy, but in the way that Rodney had handled it. Slowly, Laura could be seen nodding, her jaw set. John cautiously came forwards, helping Ronon to his feet, "What the hell McKay?" Both soldiers were clearly in shock at how Rodney had dealt with the situation.

Ronon groaned, "What Sheppard said."

Rodney kept his eyes on the back of Laura's head, "I'm going to let you up, okay?" Gently, he released his hold, and pulled the woman to her feet. Adrenaline was fast leaving her system, and now, surrounded by all the outwardly unfriendly faces, her body began shaking of its own accord. Rodney glared at Laura in bewilderment and anger, his emotions overriding any previous desire he had of avoiding her, "What the fuck, Laura? What did Ronon ever do to you?"

Laura looked at her Rodney with a mixture of hatred and shock as Ronon and John came to stand either side of him. Anger built in her chest, anger born of three tears of utter hell, a life of surviving, and of trying to protect an abandoned daughter when she could barely look after herself, "Fuck you!" She spat, backing away slightly, "You've forgotten, you've forgotten _everything!_ All the shit we went through and you've just written it off. Here you are in your fucking perfect world, oblivious to hells and pains. And now you stand next to _him!_" She gestured wildly at Ronon.

Rodney glared right back, all fear of her gone, "What about him? Ronon's a member of my team – a friend! There was no reason to attack him!"

Laura shook her head, her cold tone frosting her words, "Anubis should've taken you. You should've had to deal with all the shit! Hannah deserved this place. You just ran like the coward you are, and now stand next to _him_. I don't care what name you give him – he is the same man. Even I would never have thought you would stoop that low McKay."

Rodney looked like he had been punched in the face. He made to step towards Laura, anger clouding his features, "You think I wanted to leave her there with that shit? Hell, any of you? It's not like I had a great idea of how the damn thing worked! It was my only chance to get home – if I'd stayed any longer, my presence would have torn your fucking universe apart – just like you're doing here!"

John blinked, "What did you say?"

Rodney ignored him, continuing to yell, "I would _never_ have left Hannah there by choice!" A small sob escaped his throat, "You have to believe that Laura."

A flicker of something John could not identify glanced across Laura's face, before her eyes turned to stone, "I was captured. Tortured for information. Sent to the registration camps. I was comparatively lucky. Most of them were killed in the attack, the luckiest. But not Hannah, and not _him_." She jerked her head towards Ronon.

Ronon looked blankly at John, who shrugged. Rodney, however, suddenly seemed to realise what Laura was talking about, "No." He shook his head, trying to dispel whatever truth he had worked out.

Laura's face twisted into a bitter smile, "Congratulations Rodney, we are grandparents to Yarek's first born son." Laura spat out the word, "He broke her, and I couldn't fix her; I got there too late. She committed suicide. Not that I blame her; as long as it finally made her happy."

The mess hall had gone deathly silent. Rodney looked like he was torn between sitting down, screaming, or being sick. Somehow, he formed words, "Why did you even come here Laura?"

Laura shrugged, feigning indifference that was not reflected in her eyes, "Because you deserved to know. We loved her the same. Or I thought we did."

Any denial by Rodney was cut short as the whole mess hall, and Atlantis, was plunged into darkness.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: So what did you think? Bit of background there, and a bit of action :) I'll try and update as soon as possible for you guys!


	8. Ghost

Author Notes: Thanks for the great feedback guys! I've had this chapter done for a while now, I'll admit, but I didn't want to post until I knew I could get the last 2 chapters after this up relatively quickly. So here's the next chapter, and you should get the next installment in a week at the very most, with the final chapter following shortly after. They just need to be betaed.

Most of the italics are from the season 6 episode Redemption, which I used because the guy really is that cliche :)

Chapter 8: Ghost

The darkness was almost immediately replaced by the eerie glow of the emergency power.

"What the hell is it now?" John cursed, reaching for his earpiece to contact the control room, still watching Rodney and Laura in their staring match warily. Before he could make contact, however, a booming voice sounded throughout the city.

"_I am Anubis."_

John blinked, "What did he just say?"

Everyone's earpieces started bleeping, informing them that an unidentified hologram was transmitting in the Gateroom.

"_Humans of the Tau'ri. Your end of days finally approaches. There will be no mercy. The city of the Ancients shall be mine to command. You will bow to my awesome power. There is nothing that can stop the destruction I bring upon you. Prepare to meet your doom."_

John should have known not to get out of bed today, "Forgive me if I've read mission reports wrong, but isn't that guy meant to be completely, incontestably, dead?"

"Not in her universe." Rodney jerked his head towards Laura, refusing to name her, "And apparently even there he still has his wonderful way with words."

Laura was visibly shaking, "We're going to need guns. Lots of guns."

Ronon raised an eyebrow, "Surely he'll just blast us from wherever he is."

John glared, "Not helpful Ronon. And besides, if he wants the city, then he'll want it as intact as possible."

Teyla frowned, "Who is this 'Anubis'?"

"What do we do?" Jeannie asked, fear and uncertainty lacing her tone.

"The bad guy. Bad ass Goa'uld from the olden days, with a lot of god-complex issues. And we protect the city from him." Sheppard explained.

"All of you shut up!" Rodney yelled, his voice carrying not only over his confused teammates, but all the other occupants of the room. No one had ever heard McKay's voice sound remotely that powerful, "Anubis was the most powerful Goa'uld of the Milky Way, and you're all still just _standing_ here? He was most likely using long range communications from a ship to deliver his threat, seeing as we're all still currently in one piece, but here's the little ray of sunshine for you all: Anubis has all the technology at his disposal to make a clean sweep of this city, and he won't hang around to take prisoners. We need to move. Now."

Only Jeannie seemed to take her brother's about-turn in character in her stride, "What do you mean?"

He moved a dark gaze onto her, "It means all civilians, as many as possible, need to move to the least interesting areas of the city; people's quarters, this room, and lock themselves in with guns. I can make the city instigate isolated lockdowns."

"You just said this guy can get anywhere." Ronon pointed out.

"Yes, but he'll be interested in securing the most valuable areas of the city first, having the Jaffa get rid of the humans willing to make a stand." Laura snapped. "I need to leave. Your trip to my world was so long-lived it probably made the connection between our two universes incredibly unstable. It's why he's able to come here."

Rodney whirled around, his hand grasping her upper arm hard as their eyes connected. Neither gaze wavered, "He is here because _you_ are here. _You_are the anomaly that has let him break through. _You_ are endangering the people I care about. If you had just left well damn alone-"

"-Then you would never have to live in guilt." Laura finished with venom.

Rodney let go of her arm, quirking a bitter smile, "I already did. You're just adding to the nightmares."

Many people in the hall were feeling both scared and awkward, as if they were outside observers to a whole different world. But this was very much inside their lives, and about to materialise in the form of Jaffa. Colonel Sheppard slipped into command mode indicating to the military personnel, "Move! Break into the armoury and set up positions of defence. Any of you with the ATA gene move to the Jumper Bay. We're not going down without a fight." He turned to his team, "We need to get to the control room and fill in Elizabeth. You'd better have a plan McKay."

"Don't die?" Rodney shrugged, "Jeannie, you need to stay here. Just stay down when Jaffa appear."

"They're not human, so kill them if you need to." Laura added.

"Hey!" John cut in, "The Jaffa of our universe are for the most part our allies, so watch it, okay?"

"Enough! We need to move." Rodney didn't wait any further, striding purposefully to the transporter. His teammates could do nothing but follow him.

* * *

Atlantis was frantic as plans of action were put into motion. Rodney's advice was followed, relayed to Dr Weir by John so they could be carried out. Unfortunately, he hadn't really had time to be very descriptive, and so when their small group finally made it to the control room, a very angry Elizabeth was waiting for them. Her face was drawn, and she was clearly taking out her anxiety in an argument with Carson. Or rather, she was arguing, he was merely calmly stating the facts. "And if there are injured people, and I am stuck in some remote lockdown, what then? You need me out here Elizabeth."

"You might be a doctor, but you're no good if you can't hold your own in a fight." Laura stepped forward, her eyes cool.

"Aye, I've done the required basic field training, don't you worry lass." Carson replied neutrally.

"Finally." The leader of Atlantis stepped forwards, and in the half-light, they could see how worried she was, "Does someone want to explain what's going on? And why you all seem to know more than me?"

John opened his mouth to answer, but Rodney pushed past him, heading to Zelenka, who had also apparently not complied with the first order, "How long before they're in transporter range? How many ships?"

Radek shook his head, "Three motherships, and that does not include their glider contingents. They should be here in approximately two hours."

Rodney groaned, "Perfect."

Elizabeth was still glaring at them. John shrugged, "Something about Laura ripping a hole between universes. Either way, we need to work out how we're going to win this."

Dr Weir seemed to be getting paler by the minute, but a blank resolve, similar to the one she held when faced with the Wraith, was set in her face. "Two hours is enough time to evacuate the civilians of the city to the Alpha Site. Since the first Wraith attack, we've had it permanently prepped, so I want all non-essential personnel out of here within the hour." Now that she knew what was going on, she overrode the original plan with the aim of getting as many people to safety as possible, "Teyla, I want you to help Major Lorne co-ordinate. John, Ronon, organise defence teams. We're not giving up this city without a fight. Now move!"

She turned to the scientists, "McKay, Zelenka, I want a plan as to how we're going to get out of this."

Radek's face was grim, "A shield is not an option. Our ZPM is far too depleted."

"And we have nowhere near enough fire power to take out those ships – especially as Anubis' ship has got a few modifications." Rodney pointed to the screen, "Seems he's got a few Ancient tricks attached."

Elizabeth closed her eyes. Carson looked between them all, "How the hell did all of this happen?"

"It's me." Laura spoke up from her perch on a consol. "The machines that Rodney and I used to hop between our universes, they were never designed to be used for long periods of time like Rodney did. In basic terms, the foreign body in the universe, in this case me, is putting you all on fast forward, while mine is standing still, allowing my age to remain the same. When Rodney was in my universe, the same thing happened to him; he never aged."

"The amount of strain that kind of process puts on the walls between our two universes is too much. Things are breaking down." Rodney's voice was tense. Possibly the scariest thing about the whole situation was that he didn't seem to be panicking, as if they had already gone way beyond that stage.

"The universes will either collide and completely merge, or both just implode into nothingness." Laura supplied.

Carson raised an eyebrow, "Bloody brilliant. And how do we stop this from happening exactly?"

No one seemed to have an answer.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: We're almost at an end people! Please let me know what you thought!


	9. Horizon

Author Notes: Woah. This chapter turned out A LOT longer than I'd anticipated, but there was no way to break it up, so I guess you guys get more! Thanks for the feedback, and just to warn you, this chapter is pretty dark, with lots of death. Not too graphic, but it might upset some people. Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Horizon

Laura, McKay and Zelenka were sat in the science labs, frantically going over field notes, mission reports, experiments, the Ancient database; anything that might help them fix the ever growing hole in the universe. Most of Atlantis had been evacuated already, so the majority of the people left were military, senior personnel or pilot volunteers who held the ATA gene. The Alpha site was already setting up in their labs, in case they had to destroy Atlantis to prevent Anubis getting hold of it. Either way, they had to fix this problem, there was no way around it.

Elizabeth walked into the lab, followed by Colonel Sheppard and Ronon, "Everyone's been evacuated, including your sister, Rodney. If worst comes to worst, and we have to set the city to self-destruct, then the Daedalus will hopefully know where we've gone when it returns. Please tell me it won't come to that."

Zelenka tiredly removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, "We are no closer than before."

Elizabeth sighed, tapping her comm. "Teyla, Major Lorne, are you teams all in place?"

Lorne replied, "We've got teams guarding essential systems, and a perimeter has been set up around the Jumper Bay and Gateroom. ETA for the gliders has come down to approximately five minutes, I'd advise you all come down here."

"Understood Major. I want you to prep the Jumpers and head the defence. Colonel Sheppard will command the ground military."

John made to protest, but stopped at 'the look'. Instead he turned to the scientists, "Pack it up, we're moving."

As Rodney and Zelenka grabbed their equipment, Ronon turned to John, "Why don't we just blow up the device that's keeping her here?"

Laura's cold, dark stare at him voicing an opinion was matched with Ronon's indifferent one. In a way, he could relate to her, and so knew not to overstep himself. Rodney and Zelenka both looked up sharply, and John recognised those looks well, "Don't tell me that didn't even cross your minds?"

"These devices are sensitive pieces of Ancient technology. We're hardly going to just blow the damn things up, are we? It would take an exorbitant amount of power!"

"But would it work?" Elizabeth pressed.

Rodney floundered for a second, but Zelenka covered, "C4 would work, packed in around the control crystal."

John was confused, "You said it would take a lot of power!"

Rodney was unusually quiet. Laura sighed; she knew he had worked out the solution a few days ago, but hadn't wanted to suggest it, instead desperately searching for another way. She decided to save him the explanation, "Just blowing up your device wouldn't work. The connection between the universes needs to be severed at the exact same moment. When that happens, Anubis should be sucked back to my Earth, as your universe rejects him. Right now, the only things keeping our universes connected are those devices, the ones that are keeping me here."

Ronon nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

John shook his head, "But you'll have to go back there to blow the device the same time as we do." Everyone looked between Rodney and Laura. From what they had heard, the other Earth was not a nice place to live.

Laura shrugged indifferently, "What is hell to one is home to another. I was never going to stay here. I can't live a life with a future; I'm not wired for it. I need to live day by day to stay sane. 'Sides," She added, glancing at Rodney, "Someone's gotta make sure Emily and her kid keep themselves alive."

Rodney regarded her closely. She wasn't lying; she would implode if she stayed on Atlantis. Even though there was risk, it was very different from the danger she knew. A lifetime of habits couldn't be changed, only adapted to, as Rodney knew.

Suddenly, an explosion wretched through the air, making the floor shake. Immediately, Weir tried to find out what had happened, "Control room, come in. What was that?"

Teyla's voice could be heard responding, "A glider was just shot down; it impacted into the city. We're getting reports of transporter use near all key areas of the city. You all need to get back here now!"

"Alright, can you tell us which route is safest to take?" There was no response, only crackling, "Teyla? Teyla!"

Laura snatched up the knife she had acquired earlier, along with a gun, "Classic tactic; don't bother, he's made Atlantis a communication dead zone. We need to move. Do you have the C4 we'll need?"

John nodded, handing the sidearm he had been carrying to Zelenka, while Ronon handed one of his to Elizabeth, so they were all armed, "Moved all the arms to the Gateroom. I'll take point, you all stay in the middle and Ronon, you follow up. Keep your eyes open, and don't hesitate. Come on!"

As a group, they headed out through the corridors of their home. At first, it was unnervingly quiet, and then the first sounds of gunfire could be heard echoing down the halls of the city, accompanied by the ominous explosion of energy weapons both above their heads and in return fire. And then blue light materialised in front of them, and five Jaffa, all robed in black, aimed their staffs. It all happened so quickly, one minute they were running, the next they were ducking as fast as possible, the first volley flying over their heads. A cry from behind John signalled that someone had been hit. He took aim, but these guys weren't weighed by armour, and he was their first target, receiving a well aimed blow to his head from the staff. Ronon recovered first, taking down three with deadly accuracy. Vision blurred, John thought someone ran past him, and sure enough, two thuds hit the ground. Looking up, he saw Laura standing over them, her knife dripping with the crimson blood of the warriors. One had been killed by a slice across the throat, the other still choked on his own blood as the shock of having both his and his symbiote's spinal cord severed at the same time brought him a slow death.

John shook his head, trying to clear it, "Everyone okay?"

"No." It was Rodney who answered him, the others were silent.

"What?" John stood up as quickly as his developing concussion would allow, blood dripping sluggishly down the side of his face. Rodney pushed past him roughly. His eyes held an expression that John had never seen before, before their focus shifted to Laura. She nodded, tossing him her knife, which he caught deftly, jamming his gun in his leg holster in case he needed it. She bent and picked up a nasty looking dagger from the belt of the dying Jaffa.

Rodney turned to them, his gaze resting on something on the floor, before stating coldly, "We need to keep moving."

"If someone's injured-" John's brain was beginning to respond to adrenaline, his vision more responsive.

"No one's injured." There was no infliction of emotion in Rodney's voice, as if he had completely shut down. No panic, no anger, no fear. Nothing but a determination to make it through; to survive.

"McKay, speak sense, you just said-"

"Elizabeth's dead. We need to keep moving." Rodney turned, Laura followed. Both of them barely made a sound as they moved purposefully away from the scene of their first encounter.

John turned in pure shock. On the floor was Zelenka. The man was cradling the unmoving body of their leader in his lap. Her eyes were glassy and unseeing, and a small trickle of blood snaked delicately from her mouth, drastically offset from the gaping wound in her chest. Ronon, his nature to fight and run over-riding any grief, pulled the scientist forcibly to his feet, "We have to leave her. Sheppard. Sheppard! They can't hold the Gate for long."

John composed himself, trying to dispel the image of Elizabeth lying there broken on the floor from his mind, "Move out."

* * *

Teyla span and parried, wielding the staff weapon she had acquired with deadly skill. It was an onslaught; worse than the Wraith. With the stolen Ancient technology, more and more Jaffa came down as soon as one of them was felled. On both sides, the casualties mounted. She took out an advancing Jaffa by discharging the weapon, but was forced backwards to the line they were barely holding at the Gateroom. "Teyla!" Major Bates's voice rang out above the carnage, and on instinct she ducked, recognising the call as a warning, only just missing the attack by a hair's breadth. And then the offender fell down dead. She twisted, and saw Ronon, who nodded briefly, before turning to help the others.

"Bates! Dial the Gate! M6T-089!" John yelled as they ran in, desperately trying not to get shot.

The Major looked up in shock, clearly having honestly not expected any survivors apart from those few who stood to be left, ready to set the city to self destruct at the last moment. His delay was his undoing, as his neck was snapped cleanly by a new wave of materialising Jaffa from the ships above. Explosions aided the cacophony as their Jumpers tried desperately to hold off the Gliders. John looked on in shock as Atlantis fell around them, shouts from both the control room and the Jumper communications as good people died.

And then he kicked himself into movement, matching his actions to those of the remainder of the soldiers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Carson abandon a man for dead, and run full pelt to the controls, punching in the address. He received a shot in the shoulder, and he cried out, the pain causing him to double over, an act that saved him from the second shot at his head. "Everyone fall back to the Gate!" John yelled, "Zelenka! Set the city to destruct!"

The scientist ran, but John knew his mistake, as he was killed almost instantly by the heavily trained Jaffa. He opened fire as best he could, but remained fearful of hitting their men with friendly fire, such was the mess of the battle. And yet there were too many enemies between them and their only way out. Ronon had fought his way through, grabbing Teyla, but then a rogue shot from a zat gun hit her, the charge enveloping them both, causing them to fall unconscious. Shouts in a language John didn't understand were thick in the air, and he was almost felled in a fresh surge towards the Gate. He couldn't see any of the Atlantians.

And then a blur moved past him, a thin woman moving in tandem with another, a man. They whirled and cut, only killing enough to clear a way, instinct to survive the primary drive in their movements. Neither blinked as they killed being after being. John collided with another, who he almost shot, before he realised it was Carson. It didn't matter, because the next second, a staff blast hit the pillar next to them, and force of the blast sending them down the steps, head over heels, landing in a heap at the bottom. "Come on!" John yelled, discarding his empty gun, and physically pulling Carson up. If there was one thing he could do, he could at least make sure one of the people under his care survived.

But the Stargate's shield was up.

They turned to see an overwhelming number of Jaffa advancing on them, there was a buzzing in John's ears that sounded like Lorne, his voice tainted with distress and urgency, yelling over the whirring of a Jumper damaged beyond repair. And then the whole tower shook. Smashed glass, electrical sparks; there was rubble, metal, detritus all flying. The shield flickered and died as power to Atlantis' control room failed. A siren began to sound, signifying that someone had triggered the self destruct.

"Move!" The voice was high and clear, laced with venom, and not one John could immediately place.

It didn't matter. The Jaffa were too many, and even as he picked up a discarded staff weapon, he knew it would not do much good. Then he saw Rodney, taking down a Jaffa with a staff blow to the head, and Laura, leaping on the back of another, plunging her knife in deep, tearing flesh as she wrenched it upwards and out. It was then that John noticed the downed shield. He grabbed Carson, and with one last push, they both fell through the Stargate, the momentary rush washing away the memories for the blink of an eye, before all sensation returned full force as they hit the dewy grass.

Two more bodies fell through. Laura fell to her knees, allowing the exhaustion to take hold of her, but Rodney hit the ground running, heading for the DHD so as to cut the connection. The Stargate died before he could reach it. Either Atlantis was no more, or someone had managed to cut it the other end.

Laura was the first to speak, "Carson? You alive?"

"Aye. I'll live." A grim reply. His shoulder was partly cauterised from the staff wound, but it was still bleeding. Both Laura and Rodney were drenched in blood, having engaged in hand to hand combat.

John wasn't sure if he trusted himself to speak, instead helping Carson to his feet. Finally he turned to Rodney, "So this was you? Back then?"

Rodney shrugged, "I had to survive. Now and then, there's no difference. I just..." He trailed off.

Laura quirked a bitter smile, "You remembered Earth. And Jaffa." She frowned. "Where's your pack? With the C4?"

"I gave it to-" John stopped himself short, "I gave it to Ronon. He was to go through the Gate first."

Laura swore, "Then how do we blow the devices?"

"This cannot be for nothing!" Rodney spat.

John looked at his friend, the one who had always needed protecting, standing there, covered in blood, both his own and others', skin dark with residue from explosions, a knife in one hand, and a staff in the other. Then he looked at the ground where he had dropped the staff weapon he himself had acquired. He picked it up, "It won't be. These'll work for us."

Laura nodded in agreement. "We need to move. The longer we wait, the more damage Anubis does to the universes."

The battered four headed off in the direction that Carson remembered from the first time with Zelenka. They walked the distance in silence and determination. And then they saw it. Standing as innocently as it had for so many millennia was the device, tucked away in an overgrown crevice.

The three Atlantians stopped, but Laura kept walking, taking the staff from John's hand. Her thin fingers moved lightly over the device, changing the position of the crystal. Rodney charged his staff weapon, walking forwards to meet her. "I'll shoot five seconds after you disappear. That should give you enough time."

Laura nodded, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For remembering in the end. For not running. And for Hannah, however it turned out. Don't forget. Promise me."

"I'll survive." He replied simply.

"So will I." She retorted.

They paused, and then Rodney leaned forwards, pressing a light kiss on Laura's sunken cheek. "Goodbye Laura."

The woman smirked, hefting her weapon, before reaching behind her, fingers inches from the control crystals.

And then she disappeared as if she had always been a ghost of the light dancing on close eyelids. In his mind, Rodney steadily counted, aiming the weapon at the device.

"Five." He spoke the last count, and released the weapon.

The device exploded in a mess of twisted metal and shards of crystal. But it did not end there. The air seemed to crackle and shriek, the sky darkened, and clouds raced across the sky, colliding in thunder without sound. A hot wind sang, sucked towards the torn device, as it seemed to implode with light, before everything rushed outwards, tearing the ground from their feet, throwing the last survivors into a tangle of limbs.

It was as if the world was finally at an end.

Maybe it should be.

They were the only ones left.

Atlantis was gone.

And the universes screamed.

To Be Continued...

Author Notes: I did warn you. Possibly the most canon characters I've killed in one chapter to date. Please don't hurt me! I'll post the last chapter up soon, within the week.


	10. Dawn

Chapter 10: Dawn

John blinked. His ears rang, and his whole body ached, but then, surely that was a good thing? Because, while he wasn't an expert, he was pretty sure muscles didn't complain when you were dead. Gingerly, he picked himself up. A charred, empty crater, about a metre across, sat smoking where the device had been. Next to him lay Rodney and Carson, both dazed but alive. The staff weapon was nowhere to be seen.

The sky was blue, clear and alive, while the forest swayed gently in the light spring breeze. "Is it over?" Carson asked, his voice raw and scratchy from the heat of the air that now all seemed to have faded away.

"I think so. You both okay?" John asked. The question was asked only from an immediate perspective. Of course they weren't okay – they were the only survivors. How were they to tell those on the Alpha Site that no one else was left? That no one was going home?

"Colonel?" John twisted around, the tension from their last stand fuelling his instinctual need for a gun, even though he was unarmed. He froze when he saw who it was who had spoken.

"Lorne?" John stared in disbelief. That wasn't possible. He had heard the Major's Jumper go down, he had felt it crash into the tower. The rest of Major Lorne's team stood cautiously behind him. Two of them would have been at the stand in the Gateroom, the civilian should be at the Alpha Site, "No way. This is just...no way!"

"Sir?" Lorne looked thoroughly confused, "No offence Colonel, but how the hell did you get here? And – are you injured?" He had noticed the blood that coated them.

John ignored him, grinning from ear to ear, "We've gone back to before it happened."

"I'm sorry sir?"

Carson caught on, overcoming the shock, "So Atlantis..?"

"And Elizabeth. Ronon, Teyla. Zelenka...McKay, did you know this could happen?"

Rodney shrugged, picking himself up, helping Carson to his feet, "It was a possibility. We were the closest to the point of the tear when we closed it; the eye of the storm. Everything else has reverted to back before time and matter were corrupted by Laura."

"Thank God." Carson breathed.

Rodney walked towards the crater, "God rarely has a part in these things." He murmured, passing his hand over the residual heat haze.

Major Lorne frowned, "Sir, you understand we have to follow protocol? We have no proof you're, well, you."

John nodded, grinning in sheer relief, "I really don't care. Whatever tests you've got for me. Though, there'll be no Carson to do them. At least, I guess so. McKay? There won't be two of us running around will there?"

Rodney shook his head, "No. Time was never rewritten for us." He remained where he was, tuning out John trying to give a vaguely understandable explanation to Lorne and his team.

Rodney sighed. Somehow, incredibly, it was over. Laura, Hannah, Xac, Yarek – they might as well have been a dream, a distant shadow at the back of his mind, just as before, just as they had been for the last three years.

But he wasn't sure if that would work this time. Last time round, he had never known for sure what had happened, but now he knew. Hannah was dead. Laura had lived, and likely still would, a survivor in a world of mayflies.

He closed his hand into a loose fist, letting it drop to his side. Carson placed a hand on his shoulder, "Time to go."

Rodney nodded, turning away and heading back to the Stargate, and Atlantis.

Far away, and yet close at the same time, a woman did the same, murmuring a goodbye to the still, stagnant air, before turning her back to once again find her place in the broken Earth bathed in the blood red sun.

**FIN**

Author Notes: Final chapter, short little epilogue, and I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone reviewed, put on story alert and even just stuck with this fic until the end. I would really appreciate any last comments you have. :)**  
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